1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to the construction arts. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus and method for making a sloped floor such as a shower floor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,088,984 and 6,155,015 to the present inventor represent the prior art most relevant to the present invention. Those patents disclose apparatus and methods, respectively, for making a sloped floor, such as a shower floor, by positioning a plurality of elongate arms in radial array about a center ring that circumscribes a shower drain. Each arm has a flat bottom edge that rests atop a pitched or unpitched floor surface. Each arm has a sloped upper edge that determines the slope of the shower floor when the installation is completed. The height of each arm is relatively low at its radially innermost end where it connects to the center ring and is relatively higher at its radially outermost end where it abuts the vertical walls of the shower stall. Thus, when concrete is poured into the shower stall and screed so that it is flush with the uppermost edges of the arms, the resulting slope is predetermined by the arms. This eliminates the need to form the slope by more involved methods and enables an unlimited number of shower floors to be constructed with a common ideal slope.
The earlier system works well and has no substantial shortcomings.
Accordingly, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how further innovations could be provided.
The new, useful, and nonobvious invention of this disclosure enables the construction of a sloped floor with elongate arms that have a common height throughout their extent. The radially innermost end of each elongate arm may be attached to any part of a drain structure or to a center ring that circumscribes a drain. In a first embodiment, the slope of each elongate arm is adjustable by turning a setscrew positioned near a radially innermost end of the arm. In a second embodiment, a clip having a predetermined angular orientation is secured to a center ring and the radially innermost end of each arm is secured to the clip. The clip holds the arm so that the radially outermost end of the arm is elevated with respect to its radially innermost end, with the angle of slope being determined by the structure of the clip. In a third embodiment, each arm has a shallow construction so that it is removable from the cement after the floor has been poured. In a fourth embodiment, the radially outermost ends of the arms are secured to a fastening means that circumscribes the shower stall.
A primary object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for facilitating the installation of a sloped floor such as a shower floor.
Another closely related object is to enable such installation using elongate arms of uniform height.
These and other important objects, advantages, and features of the invention will become clear as this description proceeds.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the description set forth hereinafter and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.